PREGNANCY AND BEYOND: International Day of the Girl

Girl washes clothing in Peru

FEARS OF HAVING A GIRL?

Today is the inaugural International Day of the girl., which seeks to raise awareness and situations of girl around the world. In many countries and cultures, the birth of girl children are seen as a burden to their parents and society because of poverty. In the Middle East, women and young girls are stoned to death because of the rigid laws of their religion and society. In many other countries, girls are sent to orphan homes to be raised or sold into child labour, child prostitution and early marriages. Sometimes when education is available, girls are still not allowed to get that privilege because of their religious and cultural background belief systems. Girls are being disadvantaged in many ways that it reflects on their adult life; later on their society. In Africa and India girls at the age of twelve and fourteen are married of/negotiated to older men simply because their parents or caretakers cannot afford to feed them. Later on in their life, many of them give birth to many children and are clueless about sexually transmitted diseases/contraception. If you ask most women while they are pregnant "what gender do you want?", most of them would say, "a boy". Why? Is it because society has labelled girls or women as weak, less educated or as domestic figures?

In many countries, girls are speaking out using technology. Social media has exposed a lot of issues that people were unable to follow in the past because of the distance of time and location. Gender shapes life chances of both boys and girls. Education is an essential way for both gender to eradicate poverty.